TECHNICAL NOTE Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Nephrostomy Performed on Neonates and Infants Using a ‘‘14-4’’ (Trocar and Cannula) Technique Ahmet Bas 1 • Fatih Gu ¨ls ¸en 1 • Senol Emre 2 • Cesur Samanci 3 • Osman Uzunlu 2 • Murat Cantasdemir 1 • Haluk Emir 2 • Furuzan Numan 1 Received: 9 February 2015 / Accepted: 21 May 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) 2015 Abstract Purpose Percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) catheters are placed under combined ultrasound and fluoroscopic guid- ance in the interventional radiology suite and present unique challenges in neonates and infants. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate feasibility of PCN using a ‘‘14-4’’ (trocar and cannula) technique on neonates and infants. Materials and Methods Between September 2009 and June 2014, data for 27 kidneys from consecutive 22 neo- nates or infants who underwent PCN catheter placement using the ‘‘14-4’’ technique were retrospectively analyzed. The median age at the time of placement of the PCN catheters was 11 days (range 5–300 days). There were 18 males and 4 females. All procedures were performed in the interventional radiology suite but without using fluoroscopy. Results Unilateral PCN was performed on 17 out of 22 patients, while bilateral drainage was performed on five patients. The technical success rate was 100 %. The med- ian duration of PCN catheter was 75 days (range 10–138 days). Minor macroscopic hematuria not requiring blood transfusion was present in two of the patients in which the hematuria lasted in 2 days. Conclusion Placement of PCN catheters using a ‘‘14-4’’ technique with ultrasound as the sole imaging modality is a technically feasible and desirable option for neonates or infants. The technique obviates the need for ionizing radiation and potentially could be performed in the ultra- sound room or even at the bedside. Keywords Percutaneous nephrostomy Á Newborn Á Infant Abbreviation PCN Percutaneous nephrostomy & Fatih Gu ¨ls ¸en drfgulsen@gmail.com; drfgulsen@yahoo.com Ahmet Bas dr.ahmetbas@hotmail.com Senol Emre senolemre@hotmail.com Cesur Samanci cesursamanci@gmail.com Osman Uzunlu osmanuzunlu@gmail.com Murat Cantasdemir cantasdemir@yahoo.com Haluk Emir hemir@istanbul.edu.tr Furuzan Numan f.numan@superonline.com 1 Department of Interventional Radiology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul 34098, Turkey 2 Department of Pediatric Surgery, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey 3 Department of Radiology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, KMPasa, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey 123 Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol DOI 10.1007/s00270-015-1144-x